Recycling turns materials that would
otherwise become waste into valuable resources. Collecting used bottles, cans,
and newspapers and taking them to the curb or to a collection facility is just
the first in a series of steps that generates a host of financial,
environmental, and social returns. Some of these benefits accrue locally as well
as globally.

Recycling reduces the need for landfills and incineration.

Recycling prevents pollution caused by the manufacturing of products
from virgin materials.

Recycling conserves natural resources such as timber, water, and
minerals.

Recycling helps sustain the environment for future generations.

1 Ton of Recycled Paper = 3 Tons of
wood

1 Ton of Recycled Paper = 53.2 million
BTU's

1 Ton of Recycled Paper = 380 gallons
of Oil

By making products from recycled materials instead of virgin materials, we
reduce the need to cut down trees, drill for oil, and dig for minerals. It
usually takes less energy to make recycled products.

In most cases, making products from recycled materials creates less air
pollution and water pollution than making products from virgin materials. When
the materials that you recycle go into new products, they don't go into
landfills or incinerators, so scarce landfill space is conserved. Recycling
creates jobs, saves valuable resources and is simple to do. Before you throw
away think about the Earth and reuse, reduce and recycle.

The term Recycling has become a part of our everyday vocabulary. We take for
granted that we Recycle everything as much as we can. If we look at the
Recycling rates for the major cities in the United States it is obvious we have
a big opportunity for improving our efforts in Recycling.

United States Municipal Solid Waste Recycling Rates, 1960 to 2010

United States Recycling Rates of Selected Products, 2010

U.S. Cities

San Francisco

77%

Detroit

10%

Chicago

55%

Dallas

44%

Phoenix

23%

San Diego

54%

New York

55%

LA

65%

Houston

16%

Jacksonville

23%

Philadelphia

42%

Buy a refillable bottle and fill it with tap water instead!

Estimated Decomposition
Rates

Source : Penn State,U.S. Bureau of
Land Management

The numbers on these tables are scientists best estimates of decomposition
rates-The "chemistry" of decomposition of waste is complicated -- very
complicated. The rate of decomposition of various trash components depends not
only on what the component is, but what other materials the component comes
into contact with ( ex. water ,sunlight). For example, at neutral pH (~7)
aluminum is very stable, but at low pH (~3) or high pH (~9) it decomposes
rapidly.

Be aware that since many of today's
land fills are sealed, decomposition rates are very low due to the dry and
essentially oxygen free conditions in the land fills themselves. According to
New Scientist Magazine, plastic shopping bags are better in these conditions
than paper. The reasoning is that plastic takes up 1/10 the space of paper and
the paper takes so long to decompose that land fill volume is the critical
ecological factor.

Paper:

2-4
Weeks

Banana Peel:

3-5
Weeks

Wool Cap:

1
Year

Cigarette Butt:

2-5
Years

Disposable Diaper:

10-20
Years

Hard Plastic
Container:

20-30
Years

Rubber Boot Sole:

50-80
Years

Tin Can:

80-100 Years

Aluminum Can:

200-400 Years

Plastic 6-pack
Holder:

450
Years

Glass Bottles:

unknown? forever?

Styrofoam cup

unknown? forever?

Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management

Paper

Paper can decompose in 2 to
5 months but not if it’s a plastic bag! The paper entombed inside the bag
won’t decompose for at least twenty years – the approximate time it takes
for the plastic to deteriorate.

Paper accounts for almost
half of what we send to landfills.

If we Americans recycled
just one tenth of the paper what we end up throwing in the trash, we could
save 25 million trees a year.

The average American uses
seven trees a year in paper, wood, and other products made from trees. This
amounts to about two billion trees per year.

Separate paper into white
office paper, newspaper, cardboard, and mixed-color paper, and tie each type
separately. Don’t put it in a plastic bag!

Each ton (2000 pounds) of
recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of
landfill space, 4000 kilowatts of energy, and 7000 gallons of water. This
represents a 64% energy savings, a 58% water savings, and 60 pounds less of
air pollution.

The 17 trees saved can
absorb a total of 250 pounds of carbon dioxide from the air each year.
Whereas, burning that same ton of paper would create 1500 pounds of carbon
dioxide!

Plastic

Americans use 2.5 million
plastic bottles every hour. Most of them are tossed in the trash!

The number inside the center
of the Universal Recycling Symbol (URS) - usually on the bottom of the item
- indicates the recyclability of the plastic item. If there is no number,
then the material is considered “generically recyclable.”

At the moment, it’s only
economically viable to recycle items with a URS triangle with the No. 1, but
slowly technology is becoming available that is stretching the range of
plastics that might be recyclable. And, many local recycling programs are
taking advantage of these innovations so check to see if your town’s
recycling program has expanded their efforts (and if they haven’t, get on
them about that!)

Glass

Every month, we throw out
enough glass bottles and jars to fill up a giant skyscraper. All of these
jars are recyclable!

The process of recycling
glass (clear, green, and brown bottles, as well as broken glassware) uses
substantially less energy and produces less carbon dioxide than
manufacturing glass from scratch.

Using recycled glass uses 40
percent less energy than making products from all new materials. Today,
almost 22 percent of the glass we produce is recycled.

Aluminum

Used aluminum beverage cans
are the most recycled item in the U.S., but other types of aluminum, such as
siding, gutters, car components, storm window frames, and lawn furniture can
also be recycled.

Recycling one aluminum can
saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours -- or the equivalent of a
half a gallon of gasoline.

Because so many of them are
recycled, aluminum cans account for less than 1% of the total U.S. waste
stream, according to EPA estimates.

Because so many of them are
recycled, aluminum cans account for less than 1% of the total U.S. waste
stream, according to EPA estimates.

More than 20,000,000
Hershey’s Kisses are wrapped each day using 133 square miles of aluminum
foil. All that foil is recyclable, but not many people realize it.

Fabric

According to the EPA,
Americans have dumped over 9 million tons of just about anything with a
thread count into landfills nationwide.

The best way to recycle
fabric is to contribute your old duds to a charitable organization.

Electronic Waste

Recycling just 1 million
cell phones saves enough energy to power over 1,940 U.S. households with
electricity for one year.

With an estimated 150
million cell phones sitting unused in homes and offices across the country
waiting to be recycled or reused, there is the potential to offset the
energy consumption of more than 291,000 households.

Recycling 150 million phones
would prevent 75,000 tons of e-waste from entering U.S. landfills, to the
dramatic benefit of our environment.

The EPA estimates that 29.9
million desktops and 12 million laptops were discarded in 2007. That’s over
112,000 computers discarded per day.

In 2006, the U.S. generated
2.9 million tons of e-waste in the U.S. Of this amount, only 330,000 or
11.4% was recycled. The rest was trashed – in landfills and incinerators.

.

The 3 R's of Recycling

Reduce
Reuse
Recycle

Reducing waste does not mean you
have to reduce what you buy, it means shopping with the environment in mind.
Consider the environmental impact of each product before you buy it. Make a list
of what you need before you go shopping; this will reduce impulse buying.

Buy in Bulk!

Buy in bulk. It is cheaper and
eliminates small containers and excess packaging, which accounts for 50 percent
of our domestic trash. You have bought your laundry soap like this for years.
Think about what else you can buy in bulk! Avoid buying throw aways that can’t
be recycled. Remember, every time you make a purchase, you cast your vote to
protect the environment.

Paper or Plastic?

Use Canvas!

Learning to reuse is easy and after
a little practice, it will become second nature. Here are some great ways to
reuse our precious resources. Reuse shopping bags or buy canvas bags and use
them when you shop. Buy durable high quality goods for a longer life outside the
landfill. Although durable goods may cost a little more at first, they will save
you money and help save the environment in the long run. Before throwing
anything away, think about how each item can be reused. Be sure to use both
sides of a piece of paper before recycling it. Donate clothing, furniture, and
appliances to charity. Hospitals and nursing homes often accept old magazines
and schools reuse many items in their art and theater classes. Almost all glass,
plastic, and metal containers can be reused for storage in the kitchen or the
garage. Think before you toss.

Reducing is the best way to protect
the environment. However, if you can’t reduce something, reuse it, and if you
can’t reuse it, recycle it. Recycling means collecting, processing, marketing,
and ultimately using materials that were once discarded.

Separate aluminum, steel and tin
cans from other metals. Wipe or lightly rinse all cans and make sure they are
dry before recycling them. Prepare newspapers by folding them into brown paper
bags or bundle with string into one foot stacks. Prepare glass by rinsing and
removing metal or plastic rims and lids. Break down corrugated cardboard boxes.
Motor oil should be collected in no larger than five gallon containers and be
free of contaminants.

What is in a computer?

On average a computer is 23%
plastic, 32% ferrous metals, 18% non-ferrous metals (lead, cadmium, antimony,
beryllium, chromium and mercury), 12% electronic boards (gold, palladium, silver
and platinum) and 15% glass. Only about 50% of the computer is recycled, the
rest is dumped. The toxicity of the waste is mostly due to the lead, mercury and
cadmium ï¿½ non-recyclable components of a single computer may contain almost 2
kilograms of lead. Much of the plastic used contains flame retardants, which
makes it difficult to recycle.

Paper Towels

Paper towels cannot be
recycled the way other paper products can. They are generally already
made of recycled paper products, and as the products get reused, the
fibers get continuously shorter. Recycling paper towels would also
raise concerns of bacteria and food waste, as they are used to clean
up messes.
Composting
Although paper towels cannot be recycled at most recycling plants,
they can be used for composting and creating mulch. Creating and
maintaining a compost heap can be a time-consuming process, but will
produce cheap, high-quality mulch to use in gardens. Paper towels can
be added to compost heaps since they break down easily and are made of
recycled fibers.
Reusing
Most people throw away paper towels after one use, but they are
designed to be sturdy enough for multiple uses. If a towel is not
completely saturated or dirty, save it for reuse. Rinse it with water,
squeeze the excess water out and hang on a line with a clothespin to
dry. Towels that are only used for wiping up dry messes can be saved
and reused without rinsing.
Waste Disposal
Some waste-disposal companies will accept paper towels as part of yard
waste, as it will break down in this environment. Waste Management,
Inc., the country's leading waste-disposal company, practices this
method of disposal. Check with your local waste-disposal provider; if
they offer this option, save paper towels and dispose of them with
grass clippings and other yard waste.

Recycling Facts

The world's largest human made structure is the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten
Island in New York.

Recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy used to make the material from
scratch. That means you can make 20 cans out of recycled material with the same
energy it takes to make one can out of new material.

Each year, the United States discards enough aluminum to completely rebuild the
American commercial airline fleet and enough steel to completely rebuild the
cities of Chicago and New York.

Each of us generates on average 4.4 pounds of waste per day per person.

We throw away enough diapers every year to stretch from the Earth to the Moon 7
times.

Americans throw away enough office paper each year to build a 12-foot-high wall
of paper from New York to Los Angeles.

Recycling just one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a television for 3
hours.

Making glass from recycled materials cuts related air pollution 20% and water
pollution 50%.

Five 2-liter plastic PET bottles (#1) can make 1 sq. ft. of polyester carpet
and an XLG T-shirt!

Most new toilets use about 1.8 gallons of water per flush but- The "average"
toilet in homes today probably uses about 3 or 4 gallons

A standard shower head uses about 2.2 gallons of water per minute.

Glass can be recycled "infinitely many times" and it never wears out.

Making glass from recycled materials reduces related water pollution 50% and
air pollution 20%.

Recycling steel and tin cans saves 74% of the energy used to produce them from
raw materials.

Sixty
percent of the world's lead supply comes form recycled car batteries.

Making cans from recycled aluminum cuts related air pollution by 95%

The energy saved form one recycled aluminum can will operate a television set
for three hours or to light one 100 watt bulb for 20 hours.

Recycling paper consumes 61% less water and 70% less energy then using Natural
Resources.

Waste paper accounts for about 40% of solid waste

More than 20,000,000 Hershey's
kisses are wrapped each day, using 133 square miles of aluminum foil. All that
foil is recyclable, but not many people realize it.

Since 1997, communities across the
country have come together on November 15 to celebrate America Recycles Day.
More than a celebration, America Recycles Day is the only nationally recognized
day dedicated to the promotion of recycling in the United States. One day to
educate and motivate. One day to get our neighbors, friends and community
leaders excited about what can be accomplished when we all work together. One
day to make recycling bigger and better 365 days a year. Get involved!

Credit: EPA, Penn
State

Data compiled from The
British Antarctic Study, NASA, Environment Canada, UNEP, EPA and
other sources as stated and credited Researched by Charles
Welch-Updated daily This Website is a project of the The Ozooe Hole
Inc. http://www.theozonehole.com